William Faulkner’s affinity for animals seems evident in his writing and his personal life.
Written by Leslie Criss | Photographed by UM Archives and Special Collections, Courtesy John Cofield
“There is something about jumping a horse over a fence, something that makes you feel good. Perhaps it’s the risk, the gamble. In any event it’s a thing I need.” — William Faulkner
If there’s something magical in Mississippi that makes writers and storytellers abound, the Oxford area must have a larger quantity of magic. To name the writers of some notoriety would take some time, but there’s one name that is fairly synonymous with Oxford: William Faulkner, born in New Albany in 1897.
Academics and students alike have written about animal symbols in Faulkner’s works, but little has been written about his personal affinity for pets and other animals.
It is known that Faulkner had a pony when he was a young boy. And as he grew older, he became an equestrian. In fact, Faulkner has been said to have written “Sanctuary” to raise funds to buy himself a horse. He enjoyed the fox hunt, but if no hunt was on, Faulkner created his own steeplechase with hedges and fences to jump. Back pain plagued Faulkner for much of his later years due to multiple falls from horses.
He could also be seen on horseback riding through Oxford in the early 1900s.
Faulkner also kept dogs, including a pack of foxhounds at one time. When a 15-month-old Pointer pup of Faulkner’s was struck and killed by a car in 1946, he penned an essay, “His Name Was Pete,” that appeared in the Oxford Eagle.
Faulkner featured feists, small hunting dogs that descended from terriers brought to the United States by British miners and other immigrants, in “The Bear.” And at one time or another, he owned rat terriers, which were once the most common farm dogs in America but are now popular family pets.
Even with Faulkner’s fond feelings for whatever dogs shared his space, he may have had a greater fondness for his prized climbing roses. In Rowan Oak, the home purchased by Faulkner in Oxford in 1930, a container of Scram Dog Repellent the writer used to protect his roses from his beloved pups is on display.
Photo caption: Historian John Cofield’s grandfather J.R. Cofield took this photograph. “Bill asked me to come out to the house and take a few shots of him with his horses,” J.R. Cofield said, later recalling the scene to John. The photo also includes Faulkner’s groom, Andrew Price.
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